Malloy offers changes to liquor bill

SUSAN HAIGH

Monday

Feb 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2012 at 11:38 PM

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is offering up some changes to his proposed overhaul of Connecticut's liquor laws, hoping to reach consensus this session with the state's liquor and alcohol industry on a plan he says will help boost alcohol sales.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is offering up some changes to his proposed overhaul of Connecticut's liquor laws, hoping to reach consensus this session with the state's liquor and alcohol industry on a plan he says will help boost alcohol sales.

A list of suggested revisions, distributed on Monday to some state lawmakers and obtained by The Associated Press, revamps the Democratic governor's original proposed changes to wholesale pricing rules, limits on package store permits, rules for minimum retail prices and quantity discounts from wholesalers.

William Rubenstein, the governor's consumer protection commissioner, is expected to present Malloy's revised legislation at a public hearing on Tuesday before the General Assembly's General Law Committee.

"We are continuing to meet throughout this process with various members of the liquor industry in Connecticut to improve the package where we can and ... compromise within the original structure that the governor laid out," said Brian Durand, a spokesman for the state's Office of Policy and Management, when asked about the list of proposed changes to Malloy's bill.

Malloy, a Democrat, has said he wants to modernize Connecticut's liquor laws to promote competition and lower prices for the state's consumers, many of whom travel across the border to neighboring states to make their alcohol purchases. His plan has received mixed reaction, with the Distilled Spirits Council supporting the legislation and some package store owners claiming it will hurt their small, local businesses.

Despite the proposed changes he is making, Malloy still wants to allow retail alcohol sales on Sundays, extend hours of operation and allow some convenience stores that sell large quantities of groceries to also sell beer. Malloy has said that his bill would help recapture the approximately $570 million in sales that Connecticut loses each year to cross-border sales.

Part of Malloy's plan calls for a new statewide licensing system that uses medallions to set a maximum number of permits for package stores. Malloy originally wanted to limit the number of stores that owners could operate to nine, up from the two currently permitted. But he is now proposing to change the cap to six stores, with a gradual phasing in of one new store per year for owners beginning in October.

Malloy is no longer proposing to nix the limit of one package store per 2,500 residents in a municipality.

Malloy has also made some changes to his proposed overhaul of alcohol pricing. For example, he had wanted to get rid of a process where wholesalers post their prices every 30 days, and those prices can be amended after the manufacturer and wholesaler review one another's prices. Under his proposed revisions to the bill, only the price change process is scrapped.

The governor had also wanted to remove the rules that set minimum retail prices for alcohol. Under his revised plan, retailers can sell a bottle of alcohol at the actual cost of the item, but not below cost. They can also sell something at the lowest price posted by wholesalers in Connecticut or choose up to five items per month, per store, that may be sold up to 10 percent below cost.

Currently, a 1.75 liter bottle of Absolut vodka is being advertised in Massachusetts for $25.99, while the minimum allowable price by law for that same bottle in Connecticut is $31.99. Those figures do not include taxes.

Messages were left seeking comment with the Connecticut Package Stores Association.

Durand said the Malloy administration will keep talking with the package stores and their representatives at the state Capitol in an effort to get their support for the final legislation, which still needs to move through the legislative committee process and will likely be subjected to further changes.

"We fully understand that there is a legislative process that has to play out," Durand said. "We have been meeting with members of the committee in recent days as well and will continue to do that coming out of the hearing."

A coalition of groups, including the Distilled Spirits Council and the Connecticut Beer Wholesalers Association, has planned a rally on Tuesday at the state Capitol to support Malloy's proposal to allow alcohol sales on Sundays. Connecticut is one of two states that prohibit Sunday retail purchases.

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